December 12, 2012, Palo Alto, California. In a widespread effort to support teachers and students in the tricky art of evaluating information, NoodleTools has made freely available its Show Me Information Literacy Modules: http://www.noodletools.com/guide/showme/

With a mix of vibrant images, visual annotation and text, the modules are designed by educators to engage students in information literacy and the research process. What constitutes credible information? How does source type contribute to relevance, authority and point of view? How do I evaluate and cite born-digital images and online sources?

Over twenty full modules are available, addressing source and website evaluation, digital literacy skills, plagiarism prevention and ethical writing. There are three progressive levels to choose from (Starter, Junior and Advanced) for elementary through university students.

Show Me is already used by the thousands of schools subscribed to NoodleTools Premium – a school-edition product – where it is embedded at the point of need. NoodleTools Premium teaches information literacy on the go, as students build citations, notecards and reports.

Debbie Abilock, co-founder of NoodleTools and author of “True– or Not,” states, “In this age of information proliferation, determining information credibility is a matter of judgment, and a lively part of an engaging research process. Schools must protect students from an auto-cite, cut-and-paste mentality that inevitably leads them to treat research as a rote task and plagiarism as a mindless solution.”

“The NoodleTools Show Me tutorials help our students to clarify sources like never before,” commented Sydnye Cohen, Library Media Specialist at Brookfield High School in Connecticut. “Being able to distinguish between a magazine or journal article in a database, with visual steps along the way, teaches students that citation is a thinking process. Additional tools that help students decide if a source passes our C.R.A.P. Test (Currency, Reliability, Authority, Perspective) align with our mission to develop discerning digital citizens.”

NoodleTools is an online classroom environment for the research process, designed by educators for educators. Online tools – including citation, source evaluation, note-taking, outlining, document annotation/archiving, and real-time collaboration – are paired with expert assistance. Teachers and librarians say that NoodleTools intuitively supports the way they naturally teach and develops students’ critical thinking skills. NoodleTools has three differentiated levels, supporting elementary through university students. http://www.noodletools.com/tools/subscriptions.php

Laura Devaney

Laura Ascione Devaney is the Managing Editor, Content Services at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland's prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
When she isn't wrangling her two children, Laura enjoys running, photography, home improvement, and rooting for the Terps.
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